The Start
by MKaseyM
Summary: Lily has been disappearing, and James needs to get down to the bottom of it. - This is a completely self-indulgent piano fic. I have been wanting/needing it, and the idea finally came to me when I was playing Les Mis on the piano earlier. Jily. Sixth Year.


James was ever-aware of Lily's presence. When she went to bed early, he knew. When she stayed up late doing homework in the Common Room, he knew (and he was there too). When she went down to breakfast, he wasn't far behind. When she went to the Library to get some peace and quiet, he did too. He was with her as much as possible. They may not have spoken or acknowledged each other's presence, but he was always there. And when he wasn't there, he knew exactly where she was.

Except this week had been different. Every day when the last bell rang, Lily would run back to her dormitory, throw her things down, and run back out the portrait hole, only to come back an hour or two later. James knew she wasn't going to the Library because she would've taken her books with her, and she wasn't going to the Lake because she would've taken her friends with her (and because it was far too cold for that). He didn't follow her. He was afraid of what he would find if he did. He thought – didn't want to think – that she was going to meet someone in some clandestine rendezvous. He didn't follow her because he was afraid it would turn out to be true and not just something in his imagination.

James knew he had no right to be jealous of some other bloke being with Lily – after all, it wasn't like she was his. But that didn't stop it from hurting.

Finally, after the fourth consecutive day of Lily running off, having had enough of letting his imagination run rampant, he decided to do something about it. He couldn't sit there wondering anymore. He had to know for sure. It would be better altogether.

James ran up to his dormitory and rummaged to the bottom of his trunk. He extracted a blank piece of parchment and set it down on the bed. After giving the password, the Map revealed itself. James searched through the entire map of the castle, looking for a little black dot with "Lily Evans" written next to it. He finally found it after about five minutes. She was in an unused classroom on the fourth floor. And she was alone. James' heart leapt for joy. She was alone! She wasn't having some clandestine rendezvous! But what on earth was she doing?

He couldn't keep his curiosity hidden any longer. He had come this far; he might as well see this through. So he took up the map and his wand and left. He would've taken his Cloak too, but Sirius had been using it to get back at a few Slytherins and hadn't returned it.

James walked quickly through the castle, his eyes focused on that little dot on the fourth floor, making sure it didn't move.

James and his friends the Marauders had been to just about every part of the castle in all their years at Hogwarts, but they hadn't searched every nook and cranny. There just wasn't enough time to do so. Thus it came as no surprise to James that he could remember walking down this corridor just last year, but he hadn't gone into any of the classrooms. It was a part of the castle that was hardly ever used, and he had suspected there wasn't anything in the classrooms at all except desks covered in dust and old chalkboards. But apparently he was wrong.

He heard it as soon as stepped foot into the corridor. It was a beautiful, lulling sound. James recognized it immediately. It was a piano. He should know; he had been taking lessons his entire life. (He had a natural talent for the instrument, but he hated it because he was forced to take lessons by his mother.)

James slowly and quietly made his way down the corridor toward the room Lily was in. He stopped when he got there and peeked his head around the open doorway. Lily was sitting at a bench on the opposite side of the room with her back facing him, and she was playing a piano like he had never heard one played before. James hadn't even known there was a piano in Hogwarts or that Lily could play, much less that she was so good.

He didn't know how long he stayed there watching her and listening to the beautiful melodies, but soon she was done. She finished a rather complicated piece, breathed a sigh, and removed her hands from the keys. She put the cover down over the keys and stood up. James swiftly brought his head back from the doorway and turned to go. But which way? He was in the middle of the corridor, and she would surely catch sight of his retreating figure regardless. He was stuck.

Sooner than he thought she would, Lily walked out. As soon as she did, she caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye and shrieked, bringing her hand up to her mouth and putting her other hand on the door behind her. Her eyes were wide, and she was frozen. James thought he probably looked the same way.

Finally, Lily brought her hand down from her mouth and said, "How long have you been standing there?"

James swallowed and replied. "A few minutes maybe?" After a little while he continued, "I heard you playing." Lily didn't respond. "You're very good… I play too, you know."

Lily's features softened minutely. "I didn't know that," she said.

"It's true," he nodded. After another awkward pause, he spoke up again. "What was that last one you were playing?"

"It's called _Reflets dans l'eau_ – _Reflections in the Water_. It's by Debussy. He was a Muggle composer."

"Huh. Well, I liked it."

"Thanks. It's my favorite."

"I didn't know you could play," he said.

"I didn't know _you_ could play," she replied.

He shrugged. After a moment's hesitation, Lily said, "So now you've heard me play. And you say you can play…. Why don't you show me?" It almost sounded like a challenge, and James never backed down from a challenge.

"Alright." They walked back into the room together and sat next to each other on the piano bench. James began to move his fingers expertly over the piano. For someone who hated to play, he really was very good at it.

They stayed in that room for another hour, but they would later swear it couldn't have been longer than ten minutes. They played separately and together, and they had never been happier in each other's presence.

And that was when it started. Others would claim it started after a particular Quidditch victory that November when Lily kissed James in front of the entire Common Room. Still others would claim it started when they became Head Boy and Girl and were forced to work together and spend time with each other. But James and Lily knew. It started the moment he found her playing that piano.


End file.
